The End
by afroupean
Summary: Thou shall not. A Jarod, Ms Parker angst story.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

Yep, story is dark as in dark, but it is something that I've wanted to write for a very long time. Not giving it the highest rating because there are no explicit scene, more a situation of one's imagination given the opportunity to play around.

P.S. Please let me know if you want me to continue.

P.S.S. The only thing I can promise for this story is no character death and a happy ending.

**The End - Chapter 1**

**The present**

…the realization then hit him.

"Lyle is the father…isn't he?"

The words were spoken softly, with a slight mixture of shock and sympathy barely audible.

He could see her shoulders slumping ever so slightly, before she turned around to face him. The flames of the fireplace edged against the backdrop to emphasize the emotions running behind her eyes. It was all that he needed to confirm the horrible truth.

She did not say anything, tried a few times, but nothing was forthcoming. Instead she just stared at him with haunting eyes.

He did not know how to respond, all he could think of was, "I'm _so_ sorry."

"Don't…" she whispered and held up an unsteady hand, almost like she was trying to block out the exposed truth laying between them. "I don't want nor need your pity."

"Parker…" he said and took a step closer, wanting to do something to take away the intense pain he could sense radiating from her.

It was too much for her. She turned around and ran out of the open door leading to the outside. She barely managed to take a few steps before collapsing to her knees as bile rose forcible up her throat.

He reached her side as the last trembles racked down her back. At first he had to strain his ears to hear the whispered words, which gradually became more audible as she regained a bit of her former composure.

"Do you now understand…I can't be what you want me to be, Jarod…not anymore? I can't be a mother to Michael, a daughter to Sydney or…" A soft sob interrupted her words.

He remained rigid as granite, unable to fathom the true extent of the horrors that the woman in front of him had to endure because of him. He dreaded the words that were sure to follow.

"I had allowed myself to trust you again, Jarod. I truly believed in your promises of a better future. When I passed Michael to you through the open vent and was caught before I could follow, I _**knew**_ that you would come back for me."

His mind drifted back to that day…to the day that hunter and huntress finally came together under a common purpose – the rescue of a son, already being manipulated by the Centre to follow in the father's footsteps.

**Two years before**

_Sirens…_

_The harsh sound of closing doors…_

_Running…_

_A painful throat from all the exertion, an unconscious little body in his arms, protectively held against his chest…_

_A woman behind him, urging him to hurry as they could hear footsteps and angry voices getting ever so closer…_

_An apparent dead-end, blanketed in shadows, but instead it was an intended opening that led them into the Centre and was supposed to be their way back to freedom…_

_He quickly handed the body to her, reached up and pulled himself up into the open vent. He reached back to take their son back and was just about to help her up, when a loud, "STOP" echoed from the corner of the passage that they had barely passed a minute ago, followed by the sound of the safety being removed from various guns._

_Instinctively he drew back into the shadows; they both had agreed that the rescue of their son was to take precedence above anything else._

_She turned around to face the new arrivals, raised her hands and took a few steps forward, shielding the hiding spot in the process. _

_The guns parted to allow a man, very similar in appearance to the woman, to pass through._

"_Well, well, well…" the man uttered, with a sinister smile splattered across his face, "if it ain't my dear ol' sis that the men have been chasing all along." _

"_Lyle," she acknowledged him with a nod of a head, her passive face and voice refusing to portray the fear she felt for the safety of Jarod and their son._

_The smile disappeared. "Where are they?"_

"_Who are you talking about?" _

"_Don't play coy with me, sis; you've been picked up on multiple cameras. Tell me where Jarod and the boy are and I might just consider going easy on you."_

"_I don't know what you're talking about."_

"_Of course you don't," again the ominous smile. Silently he took a gun from the closest guard and pointed it directly to her head._

"_I'm giving you one last chance."_

"_And what? Shoot me? Despite your notions of grandeur Lyle, not even you have the authorization to terminate a red file." _

"_You forget one thing, Ms Parker, eventually anybody can outlive their usefulness to the Centre…__even you…now please turn around and get to your knees." _

_The instruction made the hair rose on Jarod's arms, still he could not – would not -, believe that the Centre would authorize lethal action. _

_The suddenness must have__ stunned her too, because at first there was no forthcoming action._

"_Turn around, sis…"_

_Although he could see them clearly, Jarod knew that there was no way that anybody, even her, could see him hiding in the shadows, still the last thing that he saw, before his whole world came crushing down, was her face lifting in his direction and her lips forming the words, "I love you."_

**The Present**

"Even…even after the first time…" her words forced his mind back to the present. He closed his eyes for a second upon hearing her words, fully aware of the meaning.

"I still believed that you were trying to find a way to free me, to rescue me."

"I thought you were dead for so long…" He knew his words had no meaning, had no way to undo the past, still he could not stop himself from saying them.

Her tear stricken face turned around, "I _**am**_ dead, Jarod. My soul slowly rot away every time that he entered my cell to finally extinguish the day I gave birth to…"

Xxx

**The Beginning**

**(A few months after Island of the Haunted)**

He wanted to touch her, to caress the exposed skin of her shoulder, to trail a line down her bare back, but he knew better. Even after having just made love to her – for the very first time – certain things, certain emotions were still off limit.

"It's time for me to go," she whispered and proceeded to get out of bed.

"Please don't go," he knew he was begging, pleading, but at that moment could not care.

She uttered an audible sigh of impatience. "We had a deal, Jarod…" she turned to face him, "one day…only one night to give free rain to this …this thing we have between us…nothing more."

He reached out a hand to grasp her arm, "But…what about us?" He could not go back to the way it was before.

For a moment, just a split-second her eyes connected with his and he could see fleeting moment of reluctance and something else in them, before it came clouded again in coldness. Forcible removing her arm from his grip, she turned her back towards him and hurriedly started collecting her clothes that was laying in disarray all over the floor.

"There never can be an 'us', Jarod…we agreed on that…you run and I chase, that had been decided for us a long time ago."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**

Thanks for the reviews. Hmmm, wasn't too sure how the story would be received when I posted the first chapter.

Anyway, seems like most of you know what was going on in the story timeline wise, but for those of you that don't, the story in chapter 1 basically started off with the present, went back into the past to two years before and then went more back into the past to a few months after Island of the Haunted. Just thought it would be cool to start off my story a bit differently that the norm – it creates sort of an anticipation of what is to come.

From chapter two it will continue from where chapter 1 ended and then slowly made its way to "the present".

**The End – Chapter 2**

**The Beginning**

_**(A few months after Island of the Haunted)**_

For a moment, just a split-second her eyes connected with his and he could see fleeting moment of reluctance and something else in them, before it came clouded again in coldness. Forcible removing her arm from his grip, she turned her back towards him and hurriedly started collecting her clothes that was laying in disarray all over the floor.

"There never can be an 'us', Jarod…we agreed on that…you run and I chase, that had been decided for us a long time ago."

Xxx

**A few h****ours beforehand **

"Sam…you take the left…Broots, Sydney, right…I'll take the middle one," the orders were fired off rapidly.

"B-but what 'bout you, Ms Parker," her technical sidekick, Broots, stuttered, concern for her wellbeing clearly visible in his eyes.

"Just go!" she exclaimed and without giving them another glance she started making her way, gun drawn, at a hurried pace down the middle passageway of an abandoned train station.

She could sense him…

She could feel his closeness…

And it scared her.

Ever since she had become 'aware' of her ability and under Sydney's tutorage and encouragement slowly started developing it, she knew that the bond they shared resulted in him being 'different' than the others. There was a connection between them, there always had been. At that stage of her life the connection have also started to seize and control the special code that had been written in her DNA since birth.

And it scared her.

It first started as hunch of his whereabouts, which proven to be true most of the times.

It was followed by a certainty, which was accurate all of the times.

And he exploited that as it took not long for him to put all the facts together.

Still, she could not stop chasing him as the Centre would not allow that.

She did not want to stop chasing him, as it had started developed into a game between them, although a very dangerous one.

It was now a game completely different than that of a huntress and hunted…

It was a game that could only be understood by two very gifted people…

It was a game that could only be played by a man and a woman intently aware and yet not willing to explore what was and always had been between them…

And it scared her.

As she entered the shadows, all her senses on high alert for his presence, she could not prevent her mind from replaying the last conversation they had.

_An insistent ringing._

"_What!" she answered the phone, a glass of clear liquid clutched in one hand._

"_You ever thought of what might have happen?" The hesitance, __maybe even pleading, was clearly audible over the phone line._

_She was not willing to give in__ that easy. "What are you talking about, Jarod?" _

"_You…me…us…what have and could have been."_

"_There are no us, Jarod. I thought we've already been over this."_

"_Then why are you still awake…waiting for my phone call as you've been doing every night since?" _

"_Who says I'm still awake?"__ She refused to acknowledge that moment in time that was a catalyst to the change in their relationship._

"_I can hear the ice in your glas__s and your steady breathing rhythm tells me that you are fully awake and aware of our conversation…"_

_Two could play that__ game._

"_And you are laying down, staring at the ceiling as you decide on how to make my life even more miserable," she interrupted him._

"_I could be sitting on the couch in front of the TV, staring at some late night drama, maybe…even something else," She could hear the slight humor in his voice._

"_And yet…you're not," she responded, before sighing deeply, "what do you want, Jarod?"_

"_You haven't answered my question yet, Miss Parker…what do you think might have happened if we weren't interrupted that night on the island?"_

_She wanted to react in her usual sarcastic manner, but no suitable words were forthcoming, instead she merely stated softly, "I…don't know."_

"_Remember that pledge we made as children?"_

_She could not prevent a soft, sad laughter from escaping her lips, "That we'll always be there for each other. How different __**that**__ turned out to be."_

"_Not for me," he whispered._

"_We were fools then, Jarod. Two children that had no idea of the reality of neither the outside world, nor what the future was to bring."_

"_I have and always will be there for you, Ms Parker." _

"_And I suppose you want me to go and agree on such a childish sentiment…no thank you, Jarod. I am too fully aware of what any momentary lack of judgement might bring forth."_

"_Then why have you been letting me stay one step ahead of the Centre time and time again these last few weeks?" Without another word he disconnected the call. _

It was hands pulling her into a previous undetectable room, which brought her forcible back to the present and made her want to curse her brief lack of concentration.

The same hands forced her gun hand behind her back before pushing her gently against a wall, her back facing whoever was responsible. It was followed by breathing in the base of her neck and softly uttered words, "You are getting sloppy, Ms Parker."

She could feel the anger rising up, "What in hell do you think you're doing, Jarod!" Feeling the gun being removed from her grip, then a hand gently padding her down, exploring for more fire weapons, she meagrely tried to break free of his grip, but without much success.

"What do you want?" she said more subdued, her heartbeat increasing as her body became more aware of his close presence.

"Who says I want anything?" He turned her around, arm still held behind her back, their faces now barely a few inches away from each other.

"Sam is nearby…" she threatened half-heartedly, anything to keep her mind off the heat that was spreading throughout her body.

"He is…" Jarod acknowledged, his lips transformed into a grin and his glance locked steadily with hers, "except that I set the door to lock automatically behind us, thereby shielding our presence from the outside world."

"I could scream…" She became infuriated upon seeing the twinkle appearing in his eyes. She abhorred the idea of loosing a battle of wills to Jarod.

"You could…but besides the fact that this room is soundproof, that will be quite unbefitting your reputation…" Without another word he bent down his head to quickly brush his lips across hers, before continuing. "I told you I was curious as to what might have happened."

A smile formed at the corner of her lips and she relaxed her body, just enough for Jarod to loosen his hold on her ever so slightly. Suddenly and without any warning, she broke completely free of his grip, which was followed by a slap through his face - the sound echoing through the room. "That is what would have happened, Jarod," she added sardonically.

Shocked, a bit taken aback, Jarod gingerly touched the bruise that was forming on his face. Although he had anticipated and at the last moment managed to avoid the brunt of the blow, it still sting – physically and emotionally.

For a moment they merely stared at each other, a variety of emotions and fire playing across their faces.

He had sensed before that she was not completely averse to his advances, was now even more sure upon seeing the affect the aftermath of his kiss has on her and was therefore not about to give up.

He took a few steps forward; she tried to back away, having forgotten for a moment about the wall behind her.

He lifted a hand to caress her cheek, she slapped his hand away, but it did not deter him from trying again. She lifted her hand as if to imitate her previous action, but at the last moment her fingers came to a rest on his wrist. Although she did not resist his touch again, she still stared at him with a glare that would have made many men cowered in fear. Jarod was not one of them. He smiled and moved in to cross the distance between them. "Why do you refuse to admit to it," he whispered in her ear.

She lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes, "Why do you always have to make things more complicated."

"Maybe because it was meant to be," he whispered. Without a second word, only a slight hesitation breaking his movement, his leaned in for another kiss.

She wanted to give in to the moment, but knew better. Two hands lifted up to press against his chest, forcing him to back off ever so slightly. "Jarod," she whispered. She was fearful of the direction they were heading towards.

"I can't…I won't…not when your body tells me you need this just as much as me." He was no longer trying to mask his desire.

Neither was she any longer trying to keep up a façade – for a fleeting moment he could see his own feelings being reflected in her eyes.

When she did not respond, he continued, hoping his honesty would make a difference, "I can't sleep, I can't eat, that night on the island has broken down all the fences I've erected over the years to protect me against the affect your very being have on me."

She shook her head and stated bitterly, "It can't work, Jarod. You know that as well as I do…it's just too dangerous." Her hands were still forcing him to maintain the distance between them, but he could feel the tremors of uncertainty snaking through them.

"One night…that's all I ask." He knew he was begging, he was desperate, but could not care, "one night of forgetting our past…our fate…our identity…one night of being just…ourselves." Deep down he hoped, prayed that it might lead to changes in events to come.

"The others…they'll come looking for me," she tried in a last ditch attempt to keep to the safety of the present. Her heart and mind was divided in two.

"They won't find us…it's just you and me, I made sure of that."

"One night?" She wanted, needed this as much as he did.

"One night." He confirmed.

Xxx

Okay, okay, I totally stink at this type of scenario. I tried to write a scene that I thought was suitable to Jarod and Ms Parker and yet at the same time not completely like what is read in everyday fanfiction – you know the 'romantic' scene that normally goes one of two ways, either the two jumped each others bones or they become all sickly over the top emotional. I don't know if I were quite successful…sigh.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**

Thanks for the reviews and the encouraging words.

Xxx

**The End – Chapter 3**

"One night?" She wanted, needed this as much as he did.

"One night." He confirmed.

Xxx

**The following day**

"…well thank you, Mr Lyle…Mr Lyle?"

His eyes widened as he picked up on the subtle changes…

Ignoring the questioning look on his Asian assistant's face, he moved towards the edge of the balcony upon seeing his sibling, his twin sister exiting the lift.

The way she held her chin a bit higher than normal, the wariness in her gaze, the reserve in her dealings with the biz of everyday Centre life, the faint flush to her cheeks and…

His head cocked slightly to one side –

...the energy, nearly sexual in its very nature, which she was radiating from every pore of her body.

She had never been more beautiful to him than at that moment.

"Mr Lyle…are you alright?" His deepest, darkest thoughts were rudely interrupted by the woman still standing behind him. He wanted to ignore him, but after a few moments he could feel her hand coming to a rest on his shoulder in a gesture of concern.

Her heavy accented voice, her very being was suddenly too much for him to bear.

Turning to face her, forcing her hand to fall to her side, he hissed through clenched teeth, "Don't _ever_…touch me again."

"Sir?" The poor woman was clearly confused as to his sudden change in demeanour.

That would be all, Lin."

Without waiting for her acknowledgement he turned his back once more on his assistant, his eyes seeking out the image below.

'_She had been with someone recently,'_

'_Who,'_

'_Why?''_

'_Was it someone__ he know…someone he met before,'_

Licking his lips, feeling a familiar burning taking control, he clutched the railing until just the whites of his knuckles were visible. In his mind a whirlwind of emotions were playing, with jealousy slowly becoming overpowering.

He needed to know.

He kept to the shadows as he followed her progress, his senses attuned to every step, every movement of the woman below him and as she made her way deeper into the bowls of the building, he hurried to make his way down a nearby flight of stairs.

xxx

She exited the lift and paused, for a brief moment feeling an overwhelming need to turn around and flee.

She wondered if the masses around her could sense what she had done.

She wondered if the evidence of her transgression was visible on her face, in the very way that she carried herself that morning.

She wondered what her father would have thought of her actions, had he still been alive.

Taking a breath…lifting her chin…calling on all her reserves to display an outer façade of utter coldness, she started walking at a hurried pace towards her office, not bothering to acknowledge the greetings from a few brave souls that got in her way.

Xxx

He was standing in her office, hands behind his back, appearing to be staring with deep concentration into nothingness.

"Last time I checked this was still my office, Syd," she scowled upon entering and without waiting for an immediate reply proceeded to put her bag away and took a seat behind her desk. He was the last man that she wanted to see at that moment given his uncanny ability to sometimes expose that which she would prefer to be kept hidden – very deep.

He turned around and observed her for a moment before saying, "I believe the question should rather be the nature of your disappearance yesterday." There was no accusation in his voice; the words were merely a statement.

"Since when do I need to report my whereabouts to anybody, including you?" Her one eyebrow was raised and a hint of warning was audible in her voice.

"I shouldn't need to remind you that we are living in dangerous times, Parker…now more than ever you need to be careful of every move you make."

Feeling the anger rising in her, more directed to her circumstances than the man in front of her, she first considered giving in to it, but upon seeing the genuine concern and care in the eyes of the man in front of her, she merely nodded her head, before stating with determination, "It won't happened again…of that I can promise you."

xxx

The safety of the shadows had allowed him to observe her entering the office. He waited a few minutes, quite content in merely standing there with his shoulder resting against the pillar, allowing his thoughts to drift, when the door suddenly opened again to reveal Sydney leaving.

Frowning, he could not help but feel resentment at what he knew most probably transpired between the older man and his sister.

He thought they had a deal; maybe it was time for him to put emphasize on that again, to remind Sydney of the sole reason why he had managed to escape Raines' wrath and the subsequent horrors of renewal wing all those years before.

xxx

"I told you I'm fine, Syd…," she spoke up, her eyes still browsing over the contents of the paperwork in front of her, but as her gaze lifted the rest of the words drifted off upon registering the identity of the man standing in her doorway.

"What do you want?" she sneered.

Not bothering for an invitation he entered, closing the door behind him. "Now, is that any way to greet your brother?" he retaliated with a forced grin planted on his face.

Last time I checked I wasn't given much choice in that department."

"All a matter of opinion." He was slowly making his way through her office, his fingers tracing a path across her furniture.

"Again…what do you want, Lyle." She rose from her seat, knowing that any position of weakness would be against her own decrement.

He came to a stop at her table and without asking for approval picked up the photo of their mother.

She narrowed her eyes, but decided to keep her silence for now.

"She really was a beautiful woman in all aspects," he stated after a few moments of appearing to give the photo his full attention. Lifting his gaze, he locked eyes with his sister, allowing his face to say everything that could not be spoken aloud.

Neither willing nor quite able to put a finger on it, but still feeling her skin turning to gooseflesh, she grabbed the picture out of his hands and growled, "What would you know of beauty?"

Resting his hands on her desk, he leaned over slightly and asked in a casual tone, "So…Sis…rumour has it that you haven't quite been yourself lately?"

Despite his relaxed attitude she could feel the atmosphere growing heavy.

Feeling a sudden urge to put a distance between them, she moved out from behind her desk and walked towards her door. Opening it she stated with all the coldness she could master, "I'm just peachy. Now…unless you have anything useful to add can I suggest you go seek out someone a bit more be interested in what you have to say?"

For a few moments she feared that she would have to resort to some sort of physical violence to get him to leave.

Instead he merely smiled, acted like he was about to leave, but at the last moment came to a standstill next to her. Allowing his eyes to freely roam across her body, taking no small delight in the barely suppressed shudder his action were causing, he chuckled softly under his breath, before turning around to depart.

There would always be another day.

Xxx

He was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, eyes closed with breathing at a steady rhythm.

Darkness was all around him, but in his soul he could see a multitude of lights dancing around him. Some were calling out to him; others were trying to hide their existence from his view, for now his attention was only focus on one that was the brightest of them all.

He knew that if his room were suddenly to be illuminated, if he were to be caught doing this exercise unsupervised, he would be severely punished, but as days passed and evil started descending, he found himself more desperate to find out the identity of the living soul he knew existed behind that light and was to be in the most danger in the days to come.

Time passed at a slow pace and just when he was about to give up for the night it suddenly came to him…

His eyes flew open as he gasped, "Momma?"

Xxx

**Author's Note**

Uh…well…never mind.

P.S.S. Please be kind on all spelling, grammatical errors that are only my own, unfortunately English doesn't happen to be one of my home languages.


End file.
